The Weretiger's Path
by Miss Special
Summary: A BoF 3 fic that follows Rei on his quest for revenge. Involves intrigue, hiding in the shadows, and other fun stuff. Hooray for chapters 4 and 5!
1. Prologue

Note: This idea has probably been done before, but this is my take on it. Apologies on the title, it was all I could think of. This is my first Breath of Fire fic, so go easy, please!

The Weretiger's Path  
Prologue

Gone. They were all gone. The house was gone, burned to the ground. Teepo and Ryu were gone, dead. Balio and Sunder were gone, their task complete.

He was alone. Alone, sitting by the remains of his home, with only his thoughts to keep him company.

He had failed miserably. He was supposed to protect Teepo and Ryu, but he couldn't even protect himself.

And the thing that really got to him was, after all those years of thieving, he and his friends try to do some good, and this is what happens. The townsfolk turn their backs on them just like that, as if they knew the trio was a bunch of miscreants all along. Never mind the fact that the kids saved the town. Never mind that the kids hadn't stolen a thing since the Nue was killed.

Well, if that's the way they saw it, who was he to say otherwise?

Rei held up his hand, ticking off a finger for every person he could think of:

Balio, Sunder…

McNeil…

Their syndicate…

And Loki.

He didn't have anything better to do, so why not seek some revenge?

Not right away, of course. He could wait.


	2. Picking up the Trail

Note: To avoid confusion, whenever "McNeil" is used, it's in reference to the person and not the village. :)

The Weretiger's Path  
Chapter One: Picking up the Trail

Years later…

He always wondered why he never bothered rebuilding the house. Well, actually there were a number of reasons why he hadn't; rebuilding was just one of those things that crossed his mind every so often.

One of the reasons was that he wasn't around very often. He spent day in and day out working on getting stronger, so that when the time came, he would be able to face Balio and Sunder and everyone else and win.

The main reason, though, was that he had Teepo to help him the first time. They'd had a hard time with it, but they also had fun, laughing and joking with each other. Rebuilding alone just wasn't worth it.

Whatever the case, that was all behind him now. His training was over, and he was ready to go. Though, since he was his own trainer, he supposed the official end of his training was an arbitrary one. How was he supposed to know whether or not he was really ready?

Well, if he died in the process, then he'd be dead, and there wouldn't be much he could do about it.

Under the cover of darkness, turning his back on the charred ruins, he set off down the path through the Cedar Woods.

* * *

Rei always took special care to avoid town. He'd largely forgiven the townspeople and accepted them as the fickle, weak-minded people they were, but he couldn't help resenting them for it. 

They were small fries, anyways. And what kind of person goes after women and children? He was a monster, not aOh. Huh. Well, he wasn't _that_ kind of monster.

He made his way to McNeil Manor and hopped the fence. Breaking in nowadays was a lot easier, though the security had been stepped up. All one had to do, though, was avoid being seen and making noise.

He jumped onto the roof and went to the section above the McNeil's rooms, then sat down. He'd done this every day for a month, trying to get information without really having to do anything. He could go after McNeil now, but that would alert the rest of the syndicate to his presence, and he might not get the information he needed.

The voices were faint, but if he breathed quietly enough, he could hear the them clear enough.

"Mikba's a patient man, but you're pushing it," one voice said. Rei'd heard the voice before. He appeared (Sounded, that is. Rei hadn't actually seen him.) to be McNeil's contact with the rest of the syndicate.

"I need more time," McNeil said, just short of pleading. "That nosy princess from Wyndia's been investigating me, and I can't operate at normal levels without her catching wind. There's nothing I can do until I convince her there's nothing going on."

"Are you saying one little princess nosing around has resulted in a 95 drop in shipments to Syn City? Pathetic!"

"But it isn't just the princess! She's got a whole team with her!"

"You'd better throw her off and get those shipments back up soon, or she just might catch you, if you get my drift."

Rei leaned closer to the edge of the roof, trying to hear better. He leaned a little too far, started to tip over, but caught himself in time. What a mistake that would have been! He could have blown the whole thing!

He listened some more, but heard nothing. The gangster had probably left after the final threat.

Syn City. Could that be the syndicate's headquarters? It was one of their bases, at least. And Mikba. Mikba was ranked higher than McNeil, at least.

He sat on McNeil's roof for a while longer, thinking his options over.

He still didn't have enough information. He didn't know who Mikba was, what was going on in Syn City, or what Balio and Sunder were up to. But he knew where he could find out more.

Rei ran along the rooftop, jumped down, dodged the guards, and was well on his way to Syn City by sunrise.


	3. Syn City

The Weretiger's Path  
Chapter Two: Syn City

In his opinion, he looked quite good in the tattered cloak he'd pilfered from someone's house. It have him an edge of mystery, made him look more rugged.

But he wasn't here to look good. He was here to find out more about his adversaries, and the cloak did a good job of hiding most of his features.

Syn City was a dirty place, to say the least. The streets were crowded with all sorts of shifty characters, beady eyes, hidden faces. Thieves, assassins, and ne'er-do-wells.

He fit right in.

He scanned the crowd, checking for the two tall horsemen. Seeing Balio and Sunder weren't there, Rei figured he could move around without fear of being recognized.

But where would he start? He couldn't just go around and ask for information! Ask the wrong person, and it could be all over.

Did that mean there was a right person to ask?

Rei walked down the street, looking right and left, trying to find someone who might know something. Someone brushed by him and tried to disappear into the crowd.

Being a good thief, Rei knew what had just happened, and reached after the person. Rei picked up the person and held him at eye level, glaring.

His glare lessened when he realized what exactly he was looking at.

"Doesn't that just beat all. You're just a kid!"

The ratty-looking little boy would have protested about being held several feet off the ground if he wasn't looking into the eyes of a very imposing tigerman.

Rei sighed, "I'll let you go, just give me back my money." He'd worked hard stealing that money, and he wasn't about to let some little pickpocket run off with it.

"I-I dunno what you're talking about," the kid said.

"Sure you don't," Rei replied. "How about this: if you don't give me my money, I'm going to eat you!" He growled to drive his point home. He didn't mean it, but it might scare the kid into handing the money over.

The kid whimpered and held out a small sack of money.

"That's better," Rei said, taking the money and putting it in his pocket. The grubby face stared back at him.

It occurred to Rei that this kid was roughly the same age as Ryu when Rei found him.

Annoyed by the nostalgic feeling he was getting, he said, "Alright, kid, I'll give you ten zenny if you tell me where I can get some information without getting killed."

The kid's face brightened a little.

"Over there," he said, pointing at a seller's stall. The kid held out his hand. "Gimme."

Rei gave the kid his zenny, set the kid down, and watched him disappear into the crowd.

Rei went over to the stall the kid pointed out, trying not to act or look suspicious. A hag sat behind the wooden counter, winkled and bent with age. She had numerous powders and potions set out to sell.

"Can I help you, young man?" she asked.

Rei wasn't sure how to go about this. If he said the wrong thing….

"I need information," he said.

"We'll see if I have any to offer," the hag replied. "What kind of information?"

"There's a crime syndicate that operates through here," Rei said. "Do you know anything about it?"

Judging by her cackling, the hag found this amusing.

"You aren't from around here, or else you'd know. But it's going to cost you."

"I figured. How much?"

"Fifty zenny, for starters. We'll take it from there."

Rei shelled out the fifty zenny, and the hag counted it carefully before continuing.

"The syndicate doesn't just operate _through_ Syn City," the hag said. "It operates _out_ of here. Syn City is the headquarters."

"What exactly does the syndicate do?"

"Thirty zenny," the hag demanded. Rei paid.

"Syn City is one big black market. The syndicate oversees the sale all contraband and otherwise illegal items, and takes a cut of the profit. In other towns, it has operatives to see the items get through without being caught or stolen."

"Who's Mikba?"

"Fifteen zenny."

Rei gave her another fifteen zenny. If this continued, he'd be broke, and then he'd have to go stealing again.

"Mikba's the leader of the syndicate. You'd best stay away from him, if you know what's good for you."

"I'm not paying you for advice," Rei retorted. "Where are Balio and Sunder?"

The hag blinked her small, shrunken eyes.

"Balio and Sunder?" The hag erupted into a fit of cackles. "Whyever would you want to know that?"

"Just tell me already!"

The hag continued to cackle, and Rei's patience was wearing thin. He picked her up by her robes and demanded, "Where are they?"

"Hey, you there!" A few gangsters made their way over towards Rei and the hag. "Put her down!"

Rei could take them on, but now wasn't the time. He dropped the hag.

"I wasn't trying to start anything," Rei said, backing away from their advance.

"Right, and I'm the king of Wyndia!" one gangster sneered.

"Look, I'm leaving, alright?" Rei took a few steps down the street.

"Don't let it happen again, or else you'll regret it." The gangster pulled a dagger from his belt and brandished it. "You got me?"

"Yeah, I got you." Rei backed down the street, not turning his back until there were enough people between he and the gangsters that they couldn't attack without making a scene.

After he felt relatively safe, Rei started planning his next move.

He'd been so close! Why wouldn't the hag tell him where Balio and Sunder were? Was there something about them that he didn't know?

It wasn't any use going back to Syn City and asking again. The hag wasn't going to talk.

WaitRei thought of someone who would know where Balio and Sunder's whereabouts. He'd been under Rei's nose all along.

McNeil.


	4. Ogre Road

Note: Sorry it took so long to get to the next chapter! I'm trying to follow the events of the game as best I can without actually playing the game itself. Thanks to anyone and everyone who reviews! They're much appreciated.  
Someone brought up the fact that Bunyan could've told Rei about Ryu surviving. You're exactly right, but in the game, Rei didn't know Ryu was alive. My guess is that Rei avoided Bunyan, probably figuring Bunyan would say something like "I told you this would happen," and then put Rei to work chopping wood.

The Weretiger's Path  
Chapter Three: Ogre Road

Rei's journey to McNeil was stalled almost as soon as it had begun. He'd been hurrying down Ogre Road, carelessly not paying attention, when he heard voices ahead. He'd nearly run smack into a couple of travelers, which in itself wasn't too dangerous, except that one of the people he'd almost run into was much, much larger than himself.

Rei dove into the brush and trees alongside the road, wanting to at least get a better look at the travelers. If he was going to get into anything, he should first know what he was getting into.

The travelers didn't seem to have noticed Rei, which was a compliment to his skills. He'd practiced long and hard at being moving fast, being silent, and, most importantly, not being seen or noticed.

The large traveler looked to be a warrior in every sense of the word. Built like a brick wall with massive wings and a gargoyle head, he carried a spear that looked like it could do considerable damaged when handled the right way.

The other traveler was smaller, Rei could tell that much, but he couldn't figure out much else, because the smaller one was on the other side of the larger one, and hard to see with a big gargoyle in the way.

Rei wondered if he could fight them. So far, he'd been completely incapable of telling how much stronger he'd gotten, if any, because he hadn't been in a fight that challenged him.

This looked like a good opportunity to see just how strong he'd gotten.

Rei gulped as he mentally prepared to let his full power loose. He had only minimal control over himself as a weretiger, and could only think the most basic of thoughts.

As he let the weretiger in him loose, he felt his mind get hazy, take on more primal characteristics. He wanted to fight. He wanted blood.

The weretiger leapt out of the bushes, ready to fight anything and everything that breathed. He growled at the travelers that stood before him, challenging them, and they had no choice but to accept.

The weretiger noticed the other traveler- a human, or something like it- was vaguely familiar, but hadn't the sense or the will to place the face.

He struck as the travelers drew their weapons, but only managed a glancing blow on one of them. It didn't matter which he attacked, so long as he connected the hit. The travelers fought back, using their numbers to their advantage. The gargoyle's immense strength wasn't surprising, but the weretiger hadn't anticipated the amount of power coming from the smaller one.

Blood was being spilled, but it was the weretiger's, not the travelers'. The weretiger was losing.

The part of the weretiger's mind that still contained intelligence remembered that he had unfinished business to take care of. He couldn't die here, not today. His purpose was vengeance.

Rei could control himself enough to will himself to leave the travelers. As quickly as the battle had begun, it was over, the weretiger disappearing into the woods and brush in a flash, leaving the travelers to their own devices.


	5. Reunion

Note: As I type this chapter, I've noticed it could be interpreted as yaoi. There won't be any pairings of any sort in this story, yaoi or otherwise, just to let you know.

The Weretiger's Path  
Part Four: Reunion

Rei sat down in the ruins of his house, resting. He was angry at himself, partially for being so reckless, but mostly because the battle he'd fought not long ago had gone so poorly. He wasn't strong enough back when Balio and Sunder attacked years ago, and even after all the training he'd done, he still wasn't strong enough to fight a couple of travelers on the road. He'd been wasting his time from the moment he'd decided to go for revenge.

He frowned at the dusty floorboards, trying to decide what to do next. He considered his options.

He could settle down, rebuild the house, and live an honest life. Give up vengeance, fighting, just live quietly in the woods.

That idea made him laugh. Rei had tried living honestly. That's what got him into this mess. He had tried to be a good person, along with Teepo and Ryu, and they died because of it. And Rei just wasn't good at the quiet life.

The other option he saw was to keep going on the path he was on. Even if he failed at getting revenge, at least he'd die trying.

His mind made up, Rei was about to prepare to leave, when he heard footsteps coming towards the house. Someone had followed him? Those travelers had come to finish him off, maybe?

Rei listened as the footsteps came closer. Whoever it was, he didn't sound very large, so it probably wasn't the gargoyle. But the other person, the smaller one- he was just as dangerous as the larger one.

Rei tried to remember the face of the smaller traveler, but he never could remember much from whenever he turned into a weretiger.

His mind raced, trying to think of what to do, until the footsteps finally came to the dilapidated doorway. Rei did nothing. All he could see of the person was a silhouette.

The person paused in the doorway, then cautiously started towards Rei. The person wasn't menacing or threatening, so Rei just stood there, unsure of what to do and who it was.

But, as the person came closer, his face became more recognizable. Rei wondered briefly if it was a ghost coming to visit, but he'd faced ghosts before, and this didn't seem to be one., which could only mean...

"Rei?" the person asked.

"Ryu?" Rei asked back.

Ryu nodded slowly. "I've been looking for you."

"You knew I was alive? The entire time?"

Ryu nodded again. He was a lot taller and more grown-up, but he seemed to be the same solemn person.

"What about Teepo? Have you found him?"

"No."

So, not only was Ryu alive, but he'd been looking for Rei and Teepo all through the years Rei had been preparing for revenge.

"Huh." Rei laughed a little. "You've been looking for me all this time, and all I've done is try to avenge you and Teepo." He suddenly felt very guilty. He had just accepted that Ryu and Teepo were dead, but Ryu hadn't given up.

What did this do to Rei's plans? Did this mean that the years of training for revenge really were wasted?

No. Ryu being alive didn't change the fact that Teepo was still gone, and the syndicate that put them through all this was still active. Balio and Sunder were still alive. Loki was still around to spread lies. McNeil was under investigation, but even if they did catch him, he'd just be put in jail. A person like him didn't deserve a fate so kind.

And if he didn't hurry, that princess might get to McNeil before him. Ryu could wait.

"I have to go," Rei said darkly, just before he swiftly exited, leaving Ryu behind.


End file.
